School's (almost) out for summer, but are graduates ready to move out on their own?
Less than half of Canadians describe themselves as financially knowledgeable
Summer is just around the corner, and for young people preparing to leave home for the first time, it marks a significant rite of passage — one that can be riddled with challenges around managing money.
Reese Finlay will graduate from Kennebecasis Valley High School next month and will be taking a bachelor of music at Mount Allison University in September.
She said her parents have set aside some money for her tuition and she's been saving, too.
"I've been working since I was 14, saving up for university. So I'm hoping to get through relatively debt free," she said.
Finlay's parents are cattle farmers and she grew up selling steers to make money, later moving on to become a lifeguard and camp counsellor. Financial responsibility was an open conversation in her house, she said, with her parents making sure she and her sisters are "prepared for life."
"I feel like our parents are really drilling into us that we don't want to end up in a situation that's hard to come back from, because you really have to get it right the first time," she said.
Those are important dinner table conversations that experts say don't happen nearly enough.
Marissa Sollows, director of communications and public affairs with the Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick, said people need to get over the taboo of talking about money in order to help teens navigate financial challenges and build resilience.
"There's so much excitement coming into summer. There's a lot of freedom for the students, but underneath that there is a real financial landscape that they're navigating now," she said.
In an economy increasingly populated by meme coins and other crypto currencies, traditional savings vehicles, like RESPs, RRSPs and TFSAs, can seem quaint, if not downright old-fashioned. But understanding where and how to save are lessons best learned early in life.
"Young people today are facing a confluence of rising costs for essentials like groceries and rent, the responsibilities of managing credit cards maybe for the first time, or budgeting maybe for the first time," said Sollows. "And they're facing some pretty significant economic headwinds while they're doing this."
Sollows points to an annual survey the commission conducts which tests the financial knowledge of New Brunswickers.
"We fluctuate between 55 and 60 per cent scores on the tests, not a passing grade in all cases, but not misaligned with performance across the country."
Another study by the Financial Consumer Agency released in January found that 44 per cent of Canadians describe themselves as financially knowledgeable, compared to 46 per cent last year.
Financial education
The Department of Education said there is a compulsory course in middle school called personal wellness that teaches students about financial matters. There are also five elective courses, mostly in the field of mathematics, accounting or finance, offered in the anglophone school system, that address personal finance.
Sollows said she's noticed the school system has incorporated more financial education into the curriculum in recent years, but said financial literacy goes beyond the classroom.
"It really does take a village. It takes the schools, it takes organizations who provide financial learning, it takes parents and guardians and communities at home to really provide young people with a good financial basis."
Jada Hector is about to graduate from Kennebecasis Valley High School in Quispamsis next month and plans to study psychology at UNB Fredericton in the fall.
She admits it's a little scary moving out on her own, but she's been preparing for this move for years. Hector has been working since she was in Grade 9, and pays for her own car and cellphone.
"My dad always felt like he was in the dark when it came to that kind of stuff growing up," she said. "So he wanted to make sure that me and my four other siblings were brought up in a way that we would understand it all together, so it would make this transition easier."
Hector said she took a family dynamics class in Grade 11 that taught her about debt, but most of her knowledge around spending, saving and financial responsibility came from her parents.
Sink or Swim
Lucía Pavón admits she had "no real concept of what money was" before leaving home in Honduras to come to university in Fredericton.
Knowing the sacrifices her family made to send her all the way to New Brunswick, including paying international tuition, she said she was determined to figure the rest out on her own.
"I started working my first job ever in my life, and that's when I really learned the value of money and like, 'Wow, this burger is an hour of my life.' This is a $15 burger and one hour of my [pay]."
Pavón said she learned quickly from friends and mentors along the way, but there was a steep learning curve.
"You really won't know the value of money … and how much it really serves you in everyday life, until you earn it and you have to spend it."
Pavón is now going into her fourth year of university and is the incoming president for the Student Union. Looking back, she said the sink-or-swim method worked for her, but admits she could have used a bit more advice.
"I 100 per cent wish that someone would have sat down with me, and told me, 'The value of money is important. Not everything is fun money. Groceries are expensive, they're only getting even more expensive. Rent is real and you need food and shelter. Your mom won't always be there to provide it for you. Get ready, start saving.'"
Setting realistic expectations
Sollows said it's important to keep a realistic mindset about what things cost, and avoid overextending on things like an expensive car loan that could set the unwary up for financial hardship down the road.
And she adds that parents need to be careful too, especially when it comes to co-signing loans.
"There are some real financial consequences for both sides if it goes wrong. So I think it's important that parents and students go in with their eyes open, understanding terms of contracts before being signed."
Student loans, payday loans and lines of credit should come under the same scrutiny, she said.
"You're stealing from your future self. So you're stealing not only the money that you're going to need to pay back in the future, you're stealing even more than that because you'll have to pay the interest on top of some of these things."
Sollows said her best advice for young people is to reward your future self.
"I can't stress enough right now — time is on your side. But with each day that passes, it's a little less on your side. So work on those habits, start saving now ... Start doing it now so that it is working for you."
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